Thread: WTF Is Wrong With People!?

It's a political statement. I think the OP missed that.

We can imply or assume things all we'd like, but I'm not so sure that we'll ever know for certain whether the statement was a political or racial one.

One of the common factors which seems to go hand in hand with some of the most base acts imaginable is that it most often involves a group of people ganged together in some kind of mob. I'm fairly certain that most of them, on an individual basis, wouldn't commit these kind of acts.
Paris Match (weekly French news magazine, for those in the US who haven't seen it) recently carried before and after photos of a man buried up to waist who was stoned to death by a mob. Many of those throwing the rocks appeared to be little more than children. The man's crime was adultery. It certainly brings home the realisation that civilisation,for many, is only a thin veneer.

"Individuals are smart, people are stupid"

One of the first self-mantras I developed.

Not so interested whether the reason was political, racial or whatever. Always after reading about such acts all i do is wonder about what makes people behave like that.
For my work i've been in Lebanon and Bosnia and seen a little what ordinary, reasonable people are capable of.

As i said in some of my previous posts; the layer of civilization is really thin; doesn't need a big push for ordinary people to jump into the dark side. We don't need to go far to find examples: Rwanda, Yugoslavia, Abu Grabi, etc etc.
It is scary as hell, as most of those people involved we not wackos, but just ordinary men (and women). Maybe it is just a part in the human nature.

JimR,

I agree...In fact, I will be teaching a history course this semester that will be addressing this very subject in the U. S. after 1863.

What's wrong with people is that they are people. We all possess a a murderous instinct that would make any creature of the animal kingdom blush. The only thing that holds us back is not just man-made law, but a higher law which appeals to our better instincts or conscience. When our understanding of what is right and wrong is compromised by a desire for vengeance our capacity for good is overwhelmed by our capacity for evil.

The American author Richard Wright once observed that, "the boundaries of hell have never been defined." Neither have the infinite ways of seemingly normal human beings to inflict pain, suffering and death on their fellow human beings.

You can explore the following link: Musarium: Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America

It is based on an exhibit that became a book by the same title.

Take care...

There are mob dynamics that take hold and cause outcomes that wouldn't occur otherwise. I once worked with a lady (civil engineer) that grew up in China during the Cultural Revolution. She said she carried the little red book with her back then. She memorized parts of it also. I asked her why. She said she did these things to keep from getting beat up!!!